It is hard to truly wrap your head around the enigma that was the 2024 New York Mets. The story of this rollercoaster season began at the 2023 trade deadline when general manager Billy Eppler pulled the plug on the most expensive team in MLB history.
With his team slipping further and further out of the playoff race, Eppler traded their two future Hall-of-Fame starters, sending Max Scherzer to the Rangers and Justin Verlander back to the Astros. The mass exodus didn’t stop there, as the Mets also traded veterans Tommy Pham, Mark Canha, and David Robertson to NL postseason contenders.
It was a shocking admission of failure for a team coming off a 100-win season, and owner Steve Cohen admitted that it may be a few years before the Mets would contend again. This was reflected in their offseason activities, as the Mets chose to go after short-term bargains rather than the high-profile stars at the top of the market. They filled out their rotation not with Blake Snell or Aaron Nola but with Sean Manaea and Luis Severino, two veterans coming off disastrous 2023 seasons. The offense, meanwhile, was not supplemented with Cody Bellinger or Shohei Ohtani but with Harrison Bader, a defensive-first fourth outfielder, and J.D Martinez, a declining slugger who didn’t sign until April.
However, the biggest free agency acquisition wasn’t a player but rather an executive. The Mets poached highly-regarded GM David Stearns from the NL-Central champion Milwaukee Brewers and named him the new President of Baseball Operations. The team also fired veteran manager Buck Showalter and replaced him with Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza.
With so much turnover, the consensus was that the 2024 season would be a rebuilding season for the Mets, hopefully laying the groundwork for a return to contention in 2025. That certainly appeared to be the case early on, as the Mets stumbled out of the gate with a 0-5 start and were sitting at 22-33 at the end of May.
"Nobody in the ballpark. 0-5. Hitless through 7. It feels like rock bottom." – Gary Cohen on the state of the Mets.
A reminder that this is game 6 of 162. The Mets still have 156 games left to play, and boy, are things getting late early in Flushing… pic.twitter.com/zYPjye0PGX
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 4, 2024
It seemed like the Mets would need divine intervention to turn their season around, and they would get it in the most unlikely forms. First came the callup of veteran glue guy Jose Iglesias. The 35-year-old shortstop had not appeared in MLB since 2022 and had spent the time off creating the hit single “OMG,” which became the team’s unofficial anthem. How Iglesias played on the field was perhaps even more surprising than an MLB shortstop becoming a global pop star. Despite being known throughout his career as a glove-first utility man, Iglesias would hit .337 over the last four months of the season and became a mainstay in the Mets lineup.
José Iglesias just performed 'OMG' at Citi Field after the Mets win pic.twitter.com/WtwzeyyCWV
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 29, 2024
The vibes began to shift when Iglesias joined the team, but things would truly turn around with the arrival of Grimace. The McDonald’s mascot would throw out the first pitch before a June 12 game against the Marlins, the club’s first of seven straight wins.
Grimace threw out the first pitch at Citi Field tonight 🍟
(via @SNY_Mets)pic.twitter.com/aTB2ziX5xc
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 13, 2024
Old-school baseball observers may roll their eyes at a singer-shortstop and a fast-food mascot saving an MLB team, but it’s hard to argue with the results. The Mets finished the season with a remarkable 67-40 record, and the vibes were immaculate. A pieced-together rotation turned back the clock, young stars like Mark Vientos and Fransisco Alvarez progressed faster than anyone could have expected, and the much-maligned Fransisco Lindor became an MVP candidate.
Despite the torrid second half, the Mets still needed to win at least one of the last two games against the Braves to clinch a spot in the postseason. Trailing by one run in the ninth with the prospect of facing Cy Young winner Chris Sale in Game 2, it appeared the Mets’ magical run would come up just short. That all went out the window with one swing from Lindor, as he stunned the Braves with a two-run homer that put the Mets ahead for good and gave them a 9-8 lead they would never surrender. After a disastrous first two months, the Mets had done the impossible and headed to Milwaukee for the Wild Card Series.
LINDOR HOME RUN TO TAKE THE LEAD
WHAT A GAME pic.twitter.com/oqaLF9PpgT
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) September 30, 2024
After splitting the first two games, the Mets would face their longest odds yet in the decisive third contest. The Brewers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the ninth and had the luxury of handing the ball to All-Star closer Devin Williams. The Mets would put two of the first three runners on base to bring Alonso to the plate as the winning run. The Polar Bear had had a miserable series and had missed a pop-up earlier in the game, but atoned for all of that and then some with an opposite-field three-run home run that ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
PETE ALONSO GO-AHEAD 3-RUN BOMB IN THE 9TH
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) October 4, 2024
The homer sent the Mets to the Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, where the task would only get tougher with a Game One matchup against ace Zack Wheeler. True to form, Wheeler was nearly unhittable through seven shutout innings, but the Phillies bullpen could not contain the resilient Mets. They scored five runs in the eighth and another in the ninth to stun the Phillies 6-2, a win that gave the Mets home-field advantage even after they suffered a brutal loss in Game Two.
The series shifted back to Citi Field for the next two games, and the red-hot Mets delighted their home crowd with a decisive victory in Game 3, powered by seven fantastic innings from Manaea. The Mets got another terrific start from Quintana in Game 4, but their offense would strand nine runners over the first five innings and head into the sixth trailing 1-0. Once again, the Mets created a bases-loaded opportunity with only one out, and their MVP would not let another chance slip away.
FRANCISCO LINDOR OUTTA HERE! OUTTA HERE!
GRAND SLAM! WHAT A MOMENT! pic.twitter.com/wDT1h5CWoO
— Amazin' Army (@WE_ARE_MET_FANS) October 9, 2024
The Phillies’ last gasp would come in the top of the ninth when they put the first two runners on against a shaky Edwin Diaz. With Citi Field holding its collective breath, Diaz would rediscover his command, retiring the next two hitters before striking out Kyle Schwarber to clinch the series. Against all odds, the Mets had upset what many considered the most complete team in the NL and were now just one step from the World Series.
Edwin Díaz struck out Kyle Schwarber on a 101.1 MPH fastball, that’s his fastest pitch since 2022 #lgm #Postseason
OMG!!!!!pic.twitter.com/3EeqQafN1S
— Isaac (@isaacgroffman) October 10, 2024
When the Mets arrived in Los Angeles for the NLCS, it became apparent they were severely overmatched. The Dodgers won three of the first four games by at least eight runs, as their streaking pitching staff was battered by one of the league’s best offenses. The Mets had an offensive explosion of their own to send the series back to LA, but the Dodgers would figure out Manaea and knock him out after just two innings in Game Six. The end result was the fourth game in the series where the Dodgers scored eight or more runs, and the Mets would prove to be all out of comebacks.
As magical as this season was, it’s clear the Mets are still a tier behind the class of the NL. It was obvious to anybody watching the Dodgers merry-go-round the bases that the Mets lacked a true front-line starter, and though the return of Kodai Senga will help, they are in danger of losing three of their starters to free agency. With Steve Cohen’s deep pockets, the Mets can compete with anyone for the top free-agent starters, and the acquisition of an ace like Max Fried or Corbin Burnes could help close the gap with the Dodgers.
The offensive situation appears much more stable, as Mark Vientos established himself as a middle-of-the-order bat to compliment Lindor and Brandon Nimmo. The big question the Mets have is what to do with Alonso, who is coming off the worst home run and OPS output of his career. Even if he never again reaches the 50-home-run plateau, Alonso has proven his effectiveness as one of the most durable and consistent power hitters in the game, and his departure would leave a massive hole in the middle of the Mets order.
The 2024 Mets were fun, surprising, magical, and wildly entertaining. The competitive window arrived ahead of schedule, and Mets fans could enjoy the thrill of a pennant race without the stress of win-now pressure. If there’s one thing we know about New York, however, it is that the honeymoon period can end as quickly as it begins, and the Mets need to continue to be aggressive this offseason if they want to make it back to the NLCS and beyond.
_____
WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
